Shen Yanchuan’s expression remained calm.
Xiao Chengqi immediately reacted, “So it really is him? You’ve known that all along, haven’t you!?”
“I haven’t seen him in person; like Your Majesty, I’m just making speculations.” Shen Yanchuan smiled, “Since the rebels raised their arms, that crown prince has always been wearing a mask, and no one knows his true face.”
Xiao Chengqi snorted.
“Do I not know you? If I weren’t absolutely certain, I would never say such a thing.”
With Shen Yanchuan’s words, there was an 80-90 percent chance it was indeed the case.
It took Xiao Chengqi some time to come to terms with this astonishing secret.
“Really incredible… He grew up in the palace since childhood; when on earth did he become involved with the previous dynasty?”
After all, Xiao Chengqi and he had been brothers for over a decade. Suddenly being told that the man who almost stole his throne was actually an orphan of the previous dynasty… Who could accept that?
“There are many secrets in the palace; it’s not impossible for such a plot of ‘switching princes’ to happen,” Shen Yanchuan said.
“I always found it strange how he managed to escape from the secret passages of the prison. Now it all makes sense!”
Both the palace and the prison were built during the previous dynasty; if Xiao Chenglin was indeed the crown prince, it’s only natural that he knew about these secrets.
Xiao Chengqi found it ridiculous.
“He really hid his identity well… If the former emperor had passed the throne to him back then, wouldn’t that have made his rule over the land legitimate and made it the Great Zhou?”
Shen Yanchuan thought there was no such possibility.
“The former emperor was wise; he had his own standards in mind.”
At that time, Xiao Chenglin was just a disabled and weak prince; the former emperor would never consider him.
Xiao Chengqi rubbed his chin, “What do you think would happen if the people of the land saw his face and learned about his dual identities in the past and present?”
Shen Yanchuan spoke slowly, “Doubt.”
“Oh? Why do you say that?”
Shen Yanchuan’s gaze fell on the thick stack of evidence.
Once people’s hearts start to waver, it’s probably extremely difficult to restore their trust again.
“Everyone knows who the fourth prince, Xiao Chenglin, is, but very few people know who the crown prince of the Great Zhou is. He’s lived under the identity of Xiao Chenglin for so many years; could he really become someone else now?”
“Is he really Xiao Chenglin, or is he the former dynasty’s crown prince? I’m afraid even he himself can’t tell the difference anymore.”
……
Ye Family.
Ye Chutang was sitting in the courtyard drinking tea, with Xiao Wu sitting beside her. One hand of Xiao Wu held a thick stack of letters, while the other hand was rapidly manipulating an abacus.
Ye Chutang looked at her with a smile, “It’s just that the first batch of goods has already arrived in the northern border region; is there really a need to rush and do the accounting so urgently?”
Xiao Wu didn’t even lift her head.
—Of course we need to calculate!
Those tea leaves were quickly snapped up as soon as they were delivered; we must hurry and restock them!
Sư Bối Nhi đã gửi đến danh sách các khoản sổ kế toán. Khi nhận được, Tiểu Ngũ lập tức bắt đầu suy nghĩ xem sản phẩm nào bán chạy nhất, khoản lợi nhuận từ sản phẩm nào cao nhất.
“Chị gái đã nói rồi mà, kinh doanh thì nhất định phải làm tốt, phải làm cho thật tốt…” Tiểu Ngũ nghiêng đầu suy nghĩ một chút, “Phân loại theo từng nhóm cụ thể! Đúng rồi! Chỉ có cách phân loại chi tiết, tính toán rõ ràng từng khoản sổ thì mới có thể tối đa hóa lợi nhuận được.”
Ye Chūtáng: “….”
Cô ấy chỉ nói qua loa như vậy mà cô bé nhỏ này lại nhớ rất kỹ.
“Chị gái!”
Ye Jǐngyán bước vào nhanh chóng, trên khuôn mặt anh ấy hiện rõ vẻ hào hứng hiếm thấy.
“Có tin tức từ biên giới tây nam!”
Ye Chūtáng bỗng nhiên hứng thú, còn Tiểu Ngũ thì vội vàng bỏ qua chiếc máy tính sổ, đôi mắt tràn đầy mong đợi nhìn về phía anh.
“Anh ba, tin tức gì vậy?”
Nhìn phản ứng của anh ấy, chẳng lẽ là… Anh tư?
Quả nhiên, khi Ye Jǐngyán đến trước mặt hai người họ, anh ta hít một hơi sâu nhưng vẫn khó có thể kiềm chế được sự xúc động trong lòng.
“Tin tốt từ tây nam! Quân đội chúng ta đã tấn công bất ngờ vào biên giới Nam Hồ, chỉ trong nửa tháng đã chiếm được ba thành phố! Quân Nam Hồ tan vỡ, liên tục thất bại! Nghe nói, người chỉ huy đội quân đó…”
Anh ta ngừng lại, nói từng từ một một cách chậm rãi:
“Trên mỗi thành phố đều được cắm cờ in chữ ‘Ye’!”
